Georgia Mountain Food Bank is proud to announce the addition of seven new key community leaders to its 2018 board of directors.

Among the new board of directors are:

  • Cheryl Jones – Hall County Schools, Nutrition Director
  • Dawn Parks – Rushton Wealth Management, Director of Financial Services
  • Kas Lawson – Hall County State Court, Staff Attorney
  • Margarita Aranda – Georgia Restaurant Association, Member Development Executive
  • Wesley Hunt – Homestar Financial, President
  • Zach Propes – Hall County Government, Financial Services Director

The new board members each boast a long history of successful community volunteering and leadership, including serving on councils and boards for the Georgia Department of Education State Nutrition, Hall County School Nutrition Association, National School Nutrition Association, Meals on Wheels, WomenSource, Mercy Health Center, Children’s Center for Hope and Healing, Atlanta Community Food Bank, Boys and Girls Club of Lanier and United Way of Hall County.

“Food insecurity is real, and it’s in our own community. As a school nutrition director, I worry about our boys and girls who don’t have enough food in their home when they leave school each day,” said new board member, Cheryl Jones, director of school nutrition at Hall County Schools.” The Georgia Mountain Food Bank is bridging the gap and making it possible to get food to households that are in need. I look forward to serving on the GMFB board.”

According to a report by Feeding America, more than 1.8 million Georgia citizens are food insecure. This report also shows that Georgia ranks number nine in the nation in child food insecurity. The Food Bank relies heavily on its volunteers each year as it aims to reduce the number of hungry families and children in its five-county service area of Hall, Forsyth, Lumpkin, Dawson and Union counties.

Last year alone GMFB volunteers gave more than 12,000 hours of their time to serve food insecure individuals in their communities. This number of hours is the equivalent to six full-time employees and with a staff of 10, this doubles the Food Bank’s capacity to serve.

Each year the board leadership works together to develop corporate partnerships and secure community donations to address hunger, health and quality of life of those in need. This year the board will be charged with actively planning and hosting the 10th anniversary of the Food Bank’s annual Empty Bowl fundraiser on September 25, 2018.

“Our board of directors pull from their community and leadership expertise in order to guide our organization to keep us mission focused so we can help feed as many hungry people as possible,” said Kay Blackstock, executive director at GMFB. “I look forward to another incredible year or working with our board of directors to identify opportunities for new programs, initiatives and food sources.”